<HTML
><HEAD
><TITLE
>Understanding Modules</TITLE
><META
NAME="GENERATOR"
CONTENT="Modular DocBook HTML Stylesheet Version 1.76b+
"><LINK
REL="HOME"
TITLE="The Official PostNuke Installation & Getting Started Guide"
HREF="book1.html"><LINK
REL="PREVIOUS"
TITLE="HTML Options"
HREF="config-html.html"><LINK
REL="NEXT"
TITLE="Advanced Website Configuration & Use"
HREF="config-advanced.html"><LINK
REL="STYLESHEET"
TYPE="text/css"
HREF="selfdocbook.css"></HEAD
><BODY
CLASS="chapter"
BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF"
TEXT="#000000"
LINK="#0000FF"
VLINK="#840084"
ALINK="#0000FF"
><DIV
CLASS="NAVHEADER"
><TABLE
SUMMARY="Header navigation table"
WIDTH="100%"
BORDER="0"
CELLPADDING="0"
CELLSPACING="0"
><TR
><TH
COLSPAN="3"
ALIGN="center"
>The Official PostNuke Installation &#38; Getting Started Guide: Revision 9939 / Preview</TH
></TR
><TR
><TD
WIDTH="10%"
ALIGN="left"
VALIGN="bottom"
><A
HREF="config-html.html"
ACCESSKEY="P"
>Prev</A
></TD
><TD
WIDTH="80%"
ALIGN="center"
VALIGN="bottom"
></TD
><TD
WIDTH="10%"
ALIGN="right"
VALIGN="bottom"
><A
HREF="config-advanced.html"
ACCESSKEY="N"
>Next</A
></TD
></TR
></TABLE
><HR
ALIGN="LEFT"
WIDTH="100%"></DIV
><DIV
CLASS="chapter"
><H1
><A
NAME="modules-understanding">Chapter 15. Understanding Modules</H1
><P
>PostNuke allows items to be virtually 'bolted on' to its engine. These items, 
called "modules", add features or functionality to PostNuke. Because it is 
extremely important to understand how modules function within PostNuke, we will 
explain how any PostNuke module can be initialized, activated, edited, 
deactivated, upgraded, and completely removed (deleted!). Any of these actions 
may be taken on any PostNuke module.
</P
><P
>The PostNuke distribution comes with a selection of popular modules already 
configured for use with your system. The Administrator may choose which modules 
to use on the site, and disable or even completely remove (delete!) those that 
will not be used on the site. Additional modules for PostNuke may be downloaded 
from the official module site at <A
HREF="http://mods.postnuke.com/index.php"
TARGET="_top"
>http://mods.postnuke.com/index.php</A
>.
</P
><P
>From the Administration menu, click "Modules".
</P
><P
></P
><UL
><LI
><P
>List: Display a listing of all modules on your site, sorted by Module name.
</P
></LI
><LI
><P
>Regenerate: Regenerate the module listing. When a new module is added to or 
deleted from the modules/ directory, the system needs to 'Regenerate' the file 
structure to recognize the change in the modules/ directory. However, there is 
no problem if you click "Regenerate" every time you wish to view the modules 
listing, to make sure that you're working with the most up-to-date list.
</P
><P
>After the listing has been regenerated any new modules are displayed in the modules listing 
(sorted by Module name), and you are given the option to Initialize and then Activate them.</P
><P
></P
><UL
><LI
><P
>INITIALIZE: Calls a function which creates any necessary tables and 
module variables that the module requires. Modules must be Initialized before 
any other action can be done on them.</P
></LI
><LI
><P
>ACTIVATE: Informs PostNuke that the module is initialized and should 
be activated. Modules must first be Initialized before they can be Activated so 
tables and module variables are properly initialized.</P
></LI
></UL
></LI
></UL
><P
>To activate a specific module, from your site's Administration menu, select 
"Modules" then "Regenerate". From the list that appears, select the module that 
you wish to activate. Click "Initialize" to initialize the module, and then 
click on "Activate" to turn the module on. Set the permissions (explained later 
in this document), and the module is ready for use.
</P
><P
></P
><UL
><LI
><P
>EDIT: Allows the Administrator to change settings for a particular 
module. The module Name, Description, AutoLinks (on/off) (if AutoLinks are 
enabled, elsewhere), Ratings (on/off), and Wiki Encoding (on/off) may be 
configured on a module-by-module basis.</P
></LI
><LI
><P
>DEACTIVATE: This function tells PostNuke that the services that this 
module offers are to be taken offline (deactivated). A module must first be 
Activated before it can be Deactivated. Once deactivated, the module is 
inaccessible to users. NOTE: Deactivate does NOT delete the physical module 
files (in modules/) and/or any specific module variables created during 
initialization.</P
></LI
></UL
><P
>To remove a module's functionality, go to the Administration menu's Module 
link, select "Regenerate", and click "Deactivate" next to the module to be 
removed. This turns the module off but keeps the module variables and database 
tables intact. This is all you need to do to make the module inaccessible to 
your users, unless you wish to completely remove (uninstall) the module from 
your site. Completely remove modules by deleting their sub-directories from 
your modules/ directory.
</P
><P
></P
><UL
><LI
><P
>UPGRADE: This function will integrate new tables, module variables, 
and user variables when you move from one version of a module to a newer 
version of a module. Note that you must Activate again after Upgrading a module.</P
></LI
><LI
><P
>REMOVE: Completely remove (delete!) this module from your system. The 
module must first be deactivated before it can be removed. Clicking "Remove" 
will delete the modules's database tables and module variables from your web 
site, but the physical files of the module (in modules/&#60;modulename&#62;) are NOT 
deleted.</P
></LI
></UL
><P
>If you wish to completely remove a specific module, click "Remove" to remove 
the module from your site. The only way to delete the physical files of the 
module is to remove the directory yourself (for example, "rm 
modules/&#60;modulename&#62;). If you wish to utilize the module's functionality again 
in the future, you will need to re-initialize and re-activate the module.
</P
><P
>IMPORTANT NOTE: There is no CONFIRMATION SCREEN when you click to "Remove" a 
deactivated module!	Be certain that you wish to delete the module before 
clicking the "Remove" button.</P
></DIV
><DIV
CLASS="NAVFOOTER"
><HR
ALIGN="LEFT"
WIDTH="100%"><TABLE
SUMMARY="Footer navigation table"
WIDTH="100%"
BORDER="0"
CELLPADDING="0"
CELLSPACING="0"
><TR
><TD
WIDTH="33%"
ALIGN="left"
VALIGN="top"
><A
HREF="config-html.html"
ACCESSKEY="P"
>Prev</A
></TD
><TD
WIDTH="34%"
ALIGN="center"
VALIGN="top"
><A
HREF="book1.html"
ACCESSKEY="H"
>Home</A
></TD
><TD
WIDTH="33%"
ALIGN="right"
VALIGN="top"
><A
HREF="config-advanced.html"
ACCESSKEY="N"
>Next</A
></TD
></TR
><TR
><TD
WIDTH="33%"
ALIGN="left"
VALIGN="top"
>HTML Options</TD
><TD
WIDTH="34%"
ALIGN="center"
VALIGN="top"
>&nbsp;</TD
><TD
WIDTH="33%"
ALIGN="right"
VALIGN="top"
>Advanced Website Configuration &#38; Use</TD
></TR
></TABLE
></DIV
></BODY
></HTML
>